Monday Monday (da daaa da da da da)

I woke up early after a wonderful night sleep and oh man, I was so excited already at 7:00 in the morning! Had some coffee, went for a tan, and then left by 10am in Uncle Dave's Huuuuge van with all of our boxes and luggage in it.
After a stop at McDonalds and a surprisingly delicious quarter-pounder with bacon and cheese, we arrived at the Hotel Allegro in the heart of Chicago. We unloaded very quickly and said a quick goodbye to Uncle Dave and the incredible Ms. Frizzle van.
We left our two carts (!) of stuff with the bellhop and walked around Randolph street with Katie Helder and Rebecca Oldenkamp. Just talked about Christmas break and our expectations for the week to come.
Our first session was at 3:30 in a big room on the first floor called the Walnut Room. We were all in alphabetical order at the tables to start the mingling process and get to know people. Our session was a general overview of the program and what to expect in orientation in the coming weeks. We all got folders with schedules and info sheets.
Supper was led by a Chicago Semester employee who would introduce us to the transit system and some downtown walking. We split into different groups to meet more people. My group was led by Michael Sider-Rose....very nice person and interested in everything we said! We took the red line train (aka "El" train) and ended up at a place called Clark's, a weird era of a restaurant. It was laid out like a 20s burger joint and painted 60s colors, and played 70s, 80s, and 90s music. Crazy. [Music kind of like in the hotel, actually.]
Monday night after supper was a session on safety in the city and then a social hour in a suite on the 19th floor to hang out and talk with more students.
I worked out and then went to bed..I was so tired!